Improvement in automatic car-brakes



2 Shets-Sheet 1. W. L. CARD. Automatic Gar-Brake,

No.2o7,'501. P at-ented Aug. 27,1878.

ATTEST: INVENTOR:

2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

W. 'L. CARD.

Automatic Car-Brake.

Nd. 207,501. Patented Aug. 27. 1878.

FIG.2.

Q l w 0' FIG 4' [I 29 ATTESTI. IN VE NTO'RZ UNITED STATES'PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. CARD, or MOBERLY, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 207,501, dated August27, 1878; application filed July 24, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. CARD, of Moberly, Randolph county, andState of Missouri, have invented a new and usefullmprovement inAutomatic Oar-Brakes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification.

This is an improvement on the invention described in Letters Patent ofthe United States numbered 200,602 and 201,591, granted to me, anddated, respectively, liebruary26 and March 26, 1878.

In the aforesaid inventions the parts had to be manipulated by thebrakenien to put them in position to be automatically operated by themovement of the draw-head, and to be thrown out of such position.

In my present invention the parts are made automatic in every respectand at all times,

the parts being always in position to set the brakes, on the slacking upupon the draw heads, when the cars are in motion, and to remove thebrakes by draft upon a draw-head when the ears are not in motion. Theparts are thrown into the position for the setting of the brakes by thecentrifugal power of balls upon the ends of a cross-bar pivoted to anaxial rod in a shaft rotated by connection with are similar to those ofmy Patent N 0. 201,594,

and then particularly describe the points differing from those in saidpatent.

The car-sills are shown at A, and the trucktimbers at B O, the wheels atD, the axles at Y E, and the ordinary grease-boxes at F. G G

are the brake-bars, having shoes g, suspended on hanger-links in theusual manner. H is a rod, attached at one end to one of the brakebars,G,and the other end connected to the shorter end of a lever, I.

' will not make any detailed description of them.

L is a draw-head, of any suitable or ordinary construction. M M are-thefollower-plates, between which is the usual draw-spring, all bein g ofthe ordinaryconstruction.

Upon the inner end'of the draw-head is a lug or bracket, N, for theattachment of the bar 0, such attaehmentbeing made by means of a reducedportion or bolt, 0, which passes through the lug N and axially through aspring, I", and carries at the end a washer and nut or pin, 0, so thatthe spring is confined between the washer and the lug N. I term thisspring the take-up spring. It allows the draw-head to be forced backbeyond a certain point without carrying with it the bar 0.

O is a shoulder or collar on bar 0, resting against the lug N,except-when the take-up spring is compressed.

The bar 0 has in it a joint, 0 allowing an oscillatory movement to itsouter end in a horizontal plane.

'O is a longitudinal slot in the bar 0, through which passes the pin 1'at the end of the brakelever B, which bar is connected to one of thedraw-timbers Q by a fixed fulcrum, S'. The outer end of the leverlt isconnected to the eye 70 on the rodK, so that the movement of the leverR'by the backward movement of the draw-head may be made to set thebrakes.

It is a stop, to limit the backward. movement of the longer end of leverB.

The slot 0 has upon one side a hooked shoulder, 0 to engage the pin r ofthe lever It on the backward movement of the drawhead when the bar 0 isin the position shown in the drawings. It will be observed that theportion of the slot 0 to the rear of the shoulder 0 is wider than theother portion of the slot. T is a spring, connectedat one end to a fixedpart 'of the can-and at the other end to the bar 0, and whose tendencyis to hold the bar 0 in the position shown, and when the car is inmotion the bar 0 is always held in this 2' Y sensor position by thespring T, so that the backward movement of the draw-bar will cause thesetting of the brakes.

I will now describe the chief novelty of my invention, which consists inthe mechanism for preventing the setting of the brakes by the backwardmovement of the draw-head when the cars are at rest. U is a tubularshaft, turning in bearings U It has upon it a chain gear-wheel, V,connected by a gear-chain, V, with a chain gear-wheel, E, upon one ofthe axles E, so that when the car is in motion the shaft U hascontinuous rotation.

W is a rod placed axially in the shaft U, and having endwise movementtherein, being thrust outward by the spiral spring X bearing against itsend, and drawn inward when in rotation by the centrifugal force of theball Y upon the ends of the cross-bar Z, the cross-bar passing throughslots in the rod-W and shaft U, and being pivoted to the former by apin, 2.

The rotation of the shaft U causes the bar Z to take a position at rightangles with a shaft, as shown; and as the bar in such a position bearsagainst the end a of the slot in the sleeve the rod W is held back inthe position shown, and the spring T holds the bar 0 in the positionseen in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the shoulder 0 will engage the pin 1' onthe backward movement of the draw-head. On the other hand, when the caris not in motion the spring X forces the end of the rod W against thebar 0, carrying it into the position shown .in dotted lines, Fig. 2, andthen the shoulder o is out of the line of the pin r, and the drawheadmay move backward and forward without any action upon the brakes.

It will be understood that thespring X has suflicient strength tooverpower the spring T, and hold the bar 0 in the position shown bydotted lines when the shaft U is not rotating. The tension of the springX is adjusted by a set-screw, w, screwin g into the end of the shaft,and against which the outer end of spring X bears.

To .keep the parts U V W X Y Z free from dust, I prefer to inclose themin a case, a. The tubular shaft U may be perforated to allow the escapeof any dust that might enter it.

The operation has been explained; but something more may be said as toits bearing upon the running of the trains. When a train is running thedraw-heads are pulled outward, and the shoulder o is held out of contactwith the pin '1",- but on the cars running together the draw-heads areretracted by the draw-- springs, and the shoulder 0 comes in contactwith pin 1, and, that end of the lever being carried backward, thebrakes are set on. When the ends of the draw-heads come in contact thebrakes are still harder pressed against the wheels. In this case thetake-up spring P is compressed and relieves the brake mechanism fromextreme strain. When the train stops the hook-formed shoulder 0 remainsin engagement with the pin 1*, and the brakes are still set 3 but as theballs Y cease to compress the spring X just as soon as the draw-headsare drawn outward by the stretching out of the'train, the bar O-isthrown toward the drawtimber Q, and the shoulder a is disengaged fromthe pin 1 and the brakes are thrown off.

The take-up spring P is made of a proper strength, so that when the endsof the drawheads are in hard contact the brakes'will not be applied withsufficient force to slip the wheels, and thus much loss is avoided.

It will be observed that on a down-grade, or

in any other position when the cars may be 7 7, running toward eachother,th e brakes will immediately be set, and onv the train stretchingout again the brakes will be released, and thus injury and loss will beavoided, from the cars crushing each other in case of an accident.

In case the engineer might have carried his train a little past thestopping-place and desires to back up, all he has to do is to juststretch out thetrain, which will release the brakes, and then the trainmay be backed, as

the spring-rod W X will push each bar 0 to the position shown in dottedlines, Fig. 2, as soon as the hook-formed shoulder 0 has been disengagedfrom the pin r by the forward movement of the draw-head.

I now mention briefly some practical advantages of this automatic brake.As each car contains a complete brake mechanism, no

brake-coupling is required from car to car and as it is worked by acommon draw-head, cars with my brake can beplaced anywhere amongordinary cars in' a train, and the brake will act in the same manner .asif it formed one of a train of similar cars, so'that no radical orgeneral change will be required to be made in the rolling-stock; but thecars may have the automatic brake mechanism applied to a few at a time,and the business of the road have no hinderance.

The mechanism is fitted for application to the ordinary hand-brakemechanism without any change being made in it, and does not in any wayinterfere with the use of the ordinary hand-brake mechanism.

The automatic brake mechanism may be put on cars at so small a cost thatit would be applied to freight-cars, and thus much loss of propertyavoided. It can be made and put on by any ordinary mechanic.

On the breaking of a link the brakes will be set on all the cars behindthe point of separation, whether running up or down hill or on a level.

No special action of the engine-driver is required to set the brakes;but the ordinary working of the engine accomplishes their setting andrelease, so that no forgetfulness or carelessness of the en gine-driverwill endanger the destruction of life or property from this cause. V.

I claim herein as new and of my invention- 1. The combination, with theautomatic brake-lever It, of the slot-ted bar 0, having at gear E V V,shaft U, centrifugal automatic device Y Z, spring push-rod W X, bar 0,and

brake-lever R, substantially as and for the purpose set'forth.

5. The combination, with an ordinary handbrake mechanism of arailway-car, of the described antom'atic brake mechanism, consisting oflever B, slotted bar 0, spring T, springrod W X, and shaft U, carryingpivoted bar or lever Z, with weights Y, all substantially as set forth.-

WILLIAM L. CARD. In presence of--' SAML. KNIGHT, E. E. CHASE.

